Chapter Sixteen
Her cheeks burned as the car came to a stop. The doorman stepped forward and opened the door, the warm dry air rushing into the car.
Deep in her heart she knew Trey was right. She scrubbed her eyes again, brushing away the last tears she’d shed over Trey Pierce.
Before he got out of the car, Ally turned away from the hotel entrance, heading down the sidewalk with long, quick steps.
She didn’t want to be near him.
She didn’t want to be near anyone.
A hot breeze whipped across her face as she walked down a side street.
Ally stopped after a few minutes, steadying herself. Tears burned her eyes, but she wasn’t going to give in. She was stronger than that. She was better than that. She wasn’t going to sit on the curb and sob like some schoolgirl who got turned down by her favorite football quarterback.
No matter how she felt.
“Hey, lady. You okay?”
A short, dumpy man stepped out of the shadows to her left, wearing a long trench coat and a baseball cap.
Oh, crap.
“I’m fine, thank you.” She risked a look over her shoulder, mapping her escape route. “Needed a little fresh air. I’ll be heading back to my hotel now. I’ve got people waiting for me—they’ll come looking if I’m not back soon.”
The middle-aged man stuck his hands in his pockets. “You’re Ally Sheldon. Saw your picture on the website.” He nodded. “Image don’t do you justice.”
She studied him, one hand inching into her purse for her self-defense spray. “How do you know who I am?” Her heart began to race as she prepared to fight.
“Don’t. Please, don’t.” He shook his head. “I got information about your brother. You shoot me, you get nothing.”
“Vincent?” Ally pulled her hand away. “What do you know?”
“Come on over here.” He gestured to a darkened storefront. “I don’t want us to be disturbed.”
She held her ground. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Whatever you want to tell me, you can do it here.”
“Okay.” He shrugged. “A few days ago, Vincent came to one of my games. Had a good run, then he had a bad run.” He held up his wrist, showing off an expensive Rolex. “Very bad run.”
Ally’s heart sank at the sight of the familiar watch.
“Usually we don’t do business like this, but he showed me his company website, showed he had the money to back this up.” He waggled the watch. “Gave me this and an IOU for the rest. Told me I could collect the money from a guy called Eddie if he didn’t come back within seventy-two hours with the cash. Said he was staying here, at the hotel—gave us the room number and all. If he hadn’t been so forthcoming with the info, wouldn’t have given him a dime. But in Vegas, we recognize those who can use our…services responsibly.” He rolled his shoulders. “Time ran out, and he hasn’t come back. We come by and looked around—Eddie’s a big fellow. Then we saw you coming and going, recognized your picture from the company website.” He grinned. “Figured we might have a better chance approaching you than the big guy. People usually don’t want us knocking on doors, you know how it is. Same with phone calls—it doesn’t have the personal touch.” He lifted his chin, looking over her shoulder. “I had one of my boys waiting in the lobby, saw you leave for dinner with your fellow. Seen you cut and run when you got out of the car, so figured I’d meet you here.” His lips curled away from his teeth. “Some business you like to do without a crowd.”
“You’ve seen Vincent? When? Where?” she asked, pushing aside the comments about Trey.
“Not getting paid to answer questions. He said you were good for the cash.” He scratched his chin. “Now I need my money. You’re a businesswoman, you understand.”
Ally choked down the bile rising in her throat at the comparison. “How much?” She mentally counted the cash in her wallet. If she had to pay for the information…
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
“What?” She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “He owes you that much?”
“Well, there is interest,” he admitted. “It gets higher every day. After this little meeting, for example, it’ll go up to twenty-five if you don’t pay up.” He grinned. “Cost of doing business.”
“I see.” She drew a shallow breath, steadying herself. “I don’t have that much on me, sorry. If you let me go back to my hotel room I can…”
She turned around to face two more men. They stared at her, not moving a muscle. Both were empty-handed, but she suspected they didn’t need weapons to do their job.
Slowly Ally turned back to face her original questioner.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, that’s not an option. When you enter the hotel, you’re going to call security on us.”
“You don’t know that.” She fought to keep her voice level.
He tilted his head to one side. “Yeah, I sort of do. I’ve done this long enough that I don’t leave much up to chance.”
“I can’t get that money out of an ATM, And the banks won’t be open until morning.” she snapped, remembering her previous conversation with Trey.
“That’s true. So, what we’re going to do is go down the street to the casino. They never close. The owners are good friends of ours—they’ll help you get a credit card advance to buy chips for some late-night gambling. Then you give the chips to us, and we’re all even.”
She gripped the purse hard. “We don’t have to do that. I’ve got jewelry in my hotel room I can give to you, something you can pawn. I won’t report that it’s gone, I won’t call security.”
The voice came out of the shadows. “She won’t. But she might call an ambulance for you if you ask nicely.”
It happened in a blink of an eye, so fast that she thought it was a bad dream. Suddenly Trey was standing beside her, and the two men lay on the ground, groaning.
The loan shark held his ground. “Didn’t think your boyfriend was going to join us.” He coughed into his hand. “Damn, you’re fast.” There was the faintest quiver in his voice.
“I am,” Trey held out his hand. “Give me the watch and Vincent’s IOU.”
The man hesitated for a second before passing over both items. The paper was nothing more than a napkin, the dark ink filling in the creases and dips. But the numbers were clear, the signature familiar.
“This Vincent’s? His handwriting?” Trey showed them to her.
“Yes.” A wave of nausea swept over her, her knees going weak.
Trey turned back to the loan shark. “Where was Vincent when he gave these to you? When did this happen?”
A sneer appeared. “That’ll cost you.”
Trey took a step forward. The stranger moved back, wincing.
“Over at Thirty-fourth and Main, in the basement of the Galaxy Girls Club. It was three days ago, like I told the lady.” He stared down at the unconscious men. “Your man split after losing the last of the money he borrowed. Took a cab—no idea where.” He pointed at Trey. “You want trouble, I can give you trouble. Her brother signed a paper fair and square, and I deserve to be paid.”
The mental math was easy to do. Three days ago, put Vincent’s poker game at the same time they’d started searching for him. He’d been in Vegas then, relocating to Reno not long afterward and going to the bank to make the withdrawal, captured on camera. The timeline held true.
Trey stared at the man for a long moment before speaking. “Listen to me. You’re going to take this note and this card…” He slid a business card out of his back pocket. “Over to the Devil’s Playground. Ask for Dylan.”
The man’s eyes widened. “You’re…”
Trey cut him off before he could finish the sentence. “Yeah. He’ll pay you the entire amount if you give him all the details about your game with Vincent. Where you were, how he appeared—everything.”
“Seems to me that might be worth a bit more.” His eyes narrowed as he studied Trey.
“You can negotiate that with Dylan,” Trey said, “if the info proves true.” He held up the napkin. “This turns out to be fake, and I’m coming after you. You don’t show up within the hour, and I’m coming after you. I’ll find you.” He turned quickly and stepped on the outstretched hand of one of the men, keeping it still. “These two as well.”
“Yeah. I get it.” Sweat beaded on his forehead. “We’re going right over.” He reached out and took the business card and the note. “Sorry for disturbing you, lady.”
Trey put his hand on Ally’s arm and took a step back, over the two bodies.
A few steps later he tugged her into turning around. As he led her back onto the street, she risked a glance over her shoulder.
The three men had vanished.
“Oh my God.” Her knees were still wobbly. “What was that all about?”
“Vincent’s been a busy boy.” He yanked out his phone as they approached the hotel. “Dylan will take care of things. He’ll cover the debt, and we’ll add it to your bill.” He tapped the small keyboard, sending a text. “Might not want to run off like that in the future. I won’t always be around to cover your back.”
The rage flared up again, bright and scalding.
“I’m not helpless. I can take care of myself.” She snapped at him. “I don’t need a man to swoop in and save me.” She touched her purse. “I have pepper spray. I would have found my own way out of the situation.”
“But…”
“Don’t.” She held up her hand. “Just…don’t. I would have negotiated something, gotten some help at the casino. As long as it brings Vincent back.”
Before he could reply, she was through the hotel doors, striding into the lobby with a well-practiced pace she used in the workplace. Fast, efficient, and no-nonsense.
He was like every other man she’d dealt with over the years, locked into his own selfish needs and wants. His reasons weren’t valid, they were…
You know he’s speaking the truth.
She swiped at her face again, cursing under her breath. Maybe Trey did have a point, but the wound was too raw to contemplate it right now. If she had her way, she’d never see his face again.
The truth was she needed him for now. He was her liaison with Jessie, and it’d be petty to demand he leave when they were so close to retrieving Vincent. The problem would solve itself with Vincent’s return.
After that, she’d cut him loose, and Trey would go his own way and she’d go hers.
After Vincent came back.
The edges of the expensive Rolex dug into her palm as she squeezed it tight.
When Vincent came back.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Trey trying to keep up with her, his long strides rushing him through the lobby to where she stood at the elevators.
She jabbed at the button.
The doors stayed shut.
He stepped up beside her, hands in his pockets. His shirt was neatly done up, and there was no sign he’d taken down two men without breaking a sweat. No sign that just before that he’d been half undressed in the back of the cab, hot and eager under her hands.
There was more here than met the eye, but she didn’t want to deal with it.
“I’m sorry.”
The faint whisper almost broke her.
She nodded, acknowledging his words.
The elevator arrived. Ally stepped in and turned to face him.
Trey gave her a sad smile and moved back. “I’m going to make sure that guy shows up and talks to Dylan, gives Jessie what he can to track Vincent down. See you tomorrow.”
She put up a hand to hold the elevator open. “You still want to do this? I can handle these meetings on my own.”
“You shouldn’t,” he said. “That loan shark might not be the only one with his hooks into Vincent. Last thing you need is for another one to show up.” His attention drifted to her purse. “I know you can handle yourself, but what if there are other people around? Have to worry about collateral damage.”
Her cheeks burned, accepting the half-lie. “I’ll call Edgar, fill him in.” She drew a deep breath, steadying herself. “First meeting is at nine, second at noon, and third at two in the afternoon, likely going until five. Edgar can brief you about them over breakfast. Thank you.”
The doors slid shut, closing her off from him.